This Country Is About to Ban Miniskirts—Because They "Hurt the Moral Fiber" of the Country. What?

If a 2011 bill that's recently been reintroduced in parliament is signed into law by Uganda President Yowery Museveni, pretty soon, women will be forced to cover up—i.e., ditch their miniskirts or face up to a $4,000 fine and 10 years in prison.

"If I met somebody putting on a miniskirt, a miniskirt that explains a lot of what that person has in one's mind, that person should be arrested," Uganda's Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo told The Guardian. "What we want to condemn is the provocativeness, that they want to draw somebody to desire them. We are saying that we are blaming and condemning any of these girls who dress so indecently, especially in public areas. We shall not accept it, whether it is fashion or what."

Ugandan parliament has been on a roll recently—trying to ban things. Late last year, it pushed an anti-homosexuality bill through to the executive office, where the president eventually refused to sign it into law, reasoning: "Unless I have got confirmation from scientists that this condition is not genetic but a behavior that is acquired."

But government watchers say that it's likely the miniskirt ban will not escape the president's pen.

"We are sure he's going to sign," Lokodo said. "He has not commented on this [publicly] as he has with the anti-homosexuality bill. That means he is comfortable with it."

The proposed law has had its share of detractors. Uganda Women's Network executive director Rita Aciro Lakor says this is an attempt by the government to control and limit women's freedom.

"They'll start with clothes," she said. "The next time they're going to remove the little provisions in the law that promote and protect women's rights."

What do you think about this proposed ban on miniskirts? Tell us in the comments below.